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The COVID-19 goes beyond a biological virus.
The COVID-19 goes beyond a biological virus.
It is a total systemic collapse.
Everybody thought December 31, 1999, was the date of crisis–when all the computation programs would break down and we would have nothing to hold on to.
Folks were worried, and getting ready for 12-31-1999.
But we did not prepare for 02-20-2020.
ÌYÀLẸ́NU: SURPRISE
ÌYÀLẸ́NU: SURPRISE
Yoruba people use words to paint convincingly sharp pictures.
When surprised, they call it “ìyàlẹ́nu.”
It means “mouth-opening,” or jaw-dropping.
You say, “Ó yà mí lẹ́nu láti gbọ́ pé ….: It opened my mouth to learn that ….”
Obituary
Oladejo Okediji, 1929-2019.
Death knocked on the door, ko ko ko ko; ko ko ko ko.
My father got up from the bed and went to the door and, very boldly, opened the door, saying, “Here I am. I’m ready for your very worst.”
Death: It’s not my fault. It’s just a job. This is what I’m paid to do.
Baba: I understand. Do it. Let’s get it over with.
ENGLISHMAN IN BENIN CITY, 1981 (Part Seven)
Rufus froze when he saw Obaseki moving towards our table. His jawline tightened. The grotesque was unmasking. I understood the meaning of that facial reaction. When a cobra flattens its head and its neck while lifting up its body off the ground to the torso level, even a baby knows what that means. We had crossed the red zone. I immediately got up and picked up the tumbler in front of him before it became a scud missile. My movement also distracted him for a moment. This was the climactic moment that had been building up for a year.
PLUTOPHOBIA
A new word will enter the streets of Nigeria.
It is PLUTOPHOBIA: the fear of the rich.
It won’t mean, as it often does, the fear of getting rich.
It will mean the fear and loathing for those who are getting rich, while the majority of Nigerians see themselves as getting poorer by the minute.
Baba Allah-Dey
Baba Allah-Dey in 1930 lost to Oba Adesoji Aderemi (wearing black, seated in the middle of the picture) in a strong tussle between the two of them for the throne of Ile Ife.
Allah-Dey’s real name was Baba Coker Olawoyin or Baba Coker Adewoyin.